My Cross to Bear

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
- Jesus

"I'd like to find the guy who called this an easy life and call him the liar that he is, cause by now I've lived long enough to know it's uphill in the snow and barefoot most the time.
They cast it like a lure with TBN brochures and say, "Your troubles are behind you." But they lie, it's not that cut and dry, they falsely advertise, covering up the truth."

"I wish they'd show me where it says my cross to bear is really just an illustration."
- Andy Gullahorn "The Broken Places"

Far to many "Christians" today are forgetting that the Christian life is not promised to be an easy one. In fact, we are told that if we want to be true Christians, we will deny ourselves every day, carry the cross with Christ, and forsake everything else to follow God. That is what a real Christian is, someone who chases after God no matter what the cost. I am tired of pansy, fake religion, claiming to be Christianity. If John the Baptist came to America's churches today, I think his words would be much harsher than, "You brood of vipers." If Paul came to visit our churches on Sunday morning, I would bet that he wouldn't let the service last longer than 10 minutes before he started tearing down the walls and calling people out. And if Jesus were to sit down in a pew in the USA, he wouldn't sit longer than 3 seconds before he became so infuriated with "Christians," and he would be much more angry than when he turned over the tables in the Temple.

What happened guys?

Where is our passion?

How did we go from tons of Christians dying every day to a watered-down form of religion that says it's ok for Homosexuals to serve in the church, that says Christians are supposed to be nice people and not offend anyone, that is afraid to share the Gospel, which is the power of God for salvation, because we don't want to "turn people off from God?"

I am certainly not pointing a finger, as I too have failed to live up to my calling as a child of the Almighty many times. I am simply stating what I see as Christianity's biggest problem today. We have lost our first love. We are so caught up in our clothes, cars, houses, decor, you name it. We have let go of the greatest commandment, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength."

We have lost our first love.

Uncle Cam

I just finished reading about a truly awesome man, William Cameron Townsend! For those of you unfamiliar with Uncle Cam, as he was known, he was the founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators/ SIL. Today, they have translated at least parts of the Bible into over 1000 different languages!!! I love reading about people who got it. People who understood that this life is about nothing more than loving God and loving people. Uncle Cam got it. He lived his life to the fullest knowing that this is only a short transition into eternity, and now he's up in Heaven partying with God! As I rapidly read through the pages of this exciting book, my prayer for my life is that God will use me to change the nations and get people excited about God. I pray that I will not allow anything this world offers me to get in the way of spreading the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. I pray that my life will be a reflection of God's love for everyone, and that people will be able to see Jesus through my actions and hear Him in my words. I pray that through me, God will bring a revolution in a quickly dying church, and that He would catch people on fire with the Word. I pray that God would move in the lives of Christ-followers all over the world to reach out to those around them and let people know the good news of Christ and Him crucified. I pray for courage for those who face death everyday for being proud of Christ. I pray for conviction for those "Christians" who have let the world and its vices become more important to them than the almighty creator of the universe. I pray for wokers for the harvest God is preparing. I pray for Christians to catch a global view of God's love, and commit themselves to sharing Christ with the whole world. I pray for everyday Christians to knock on the door of their neighbors and share the hope that they have in Christ Jesus. I pray for passion among Christians to see the WHOLE WORLD WORSHIPPING THE ONE TRUE GOD!!! I beg God for the souls of the lost. And most importantly, I pray for the glory of God to be seen and praised in churches in every nation, by every tongue, from every person.

To William Cameron Townsend,
I will see you in Heaven with plenty of stories to share about how God used a simple man like me to accomplish His will in this world. Thanks for setting an example for the rest of us on how to be truly used by God to show His love to the world. Heaven is bigger because you let God use you.

Mission

What is mission? What is missions? What is the difference between the two?

Mission is described as the special task or purpose for which a person is apparently destined in life. Your mission is your goal, your purpose. As Christians, our mission is to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28 18-20. Also, I believe that God designed each person with a specific mission in mind. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. With that in mind? What is my mission?

My mission has to do with missions? Being a missionary can still mean a lot of things. I know missionaries who live here in the States. Missionaries have all sorts of different tasks and goals. Most of the time when we think of a missionary we think of an international missionary, which is what God has called me to do.

We should all live with a mission in mind of reaching the lost and strengthening the found. We should live lives worthy of the cause for which we have been called in Christ Jesus. And in doing that, God will show us where in the body of Christ He wants us to serve.

That being said, my wife and I feel a very strong call to minister to the body overseas somewhere. We are both excited and scared at the same time. I was sitting at a stop light the other day and thinking to myself, "When we go, we're not going to get to see any of our friends or family. I can't just call up my pastor here and meet him for a cup of coffee whenever I please." This thought really scared me. Then I was reminded of the fact that these plans are not mine, but God's. When God places a call on someone's life, He will give the strength it takes to complete the task at hand.

Just thought I'd share that with you. Please be in prayer for us as we begin the process of looking at missionary organizations, and as we continue praying for a specific destination.

Barbarian Way

I feel that I should start this blog by telling you that I have not been much of a reader growing up. Even now, it's been hard to pick up a book and start reading. That being said, I understand that there are people out there that have more insight and widsom about God than I do right now simply because they've been experiencing God longer than I have. I recently had some time to kill away from home, so I stopped in my local Christian bookstore to graze the "Christian Living" section for something that looked exciting. I am learning to be a bargain shopper, because I don't have a lot of money, so I was looking for something on sale. I wasn't looking for a cheap book because I believe that you usually get what you pay for, but I didn't really want to pay full-price for a book. Almost immediately a book's title caught my eye. It was The Barbarian Way, by Erwin Raphael McManus. In the past, when I did read I would usually stick to the few authors who I have come to respect as great Christian men, but I have been on a big "adventurous" kick, so I picked it up. The next thing I saw on the cover was "2 books in 1 volume." This got me really excited! I was getting a book on sale, and it was 2 books in 1. Anyways, I decided I'd give it a shot. I paid for my book, got in my car, and drove to where I needed to be in an hour. When I got there, I rolled down my windows, propped my feet up on the dash, and began to read.

The Book

At first, The Barbarian Way seemed just like other books from John Eldredge and Mike Yaconelli. I thought, "Great. Another writer making money off of the same ideas everyone else writes about." I wanted something new and fresh. Something that I could really sink my teeth into, and tell all my friends about. Anyways, I kept reading. The more I kept reading, the more I wanted to hear. Now keep in mind that I'm not much of a reader, and I haven't read a whole book in a long time. I finished the book in 3 days! I was reading it in the morning after my time in the Word. I was reading it when my girls were napping. And I was even staying up late at night to read (which is very strange because I don't usually get a lot of sleep). That being said, I don't think I would put this book on a must-read list or in my top 5, but reading this book was definately not time wasted. My favorite thing about The Barbarian Way was the fact that there is someone else out there who gets it. McManus understands that when we spend our lives chasing after the one who created us and loved us enough to send His son to die on the cross for our sins, we don't fit in with this fallen world. When we seek after the Lord of Lords, we often come across as barbarians, and radicals. We don't care what people think or say or do to us, because we know without a shadow of a doubt that we are in the will of God and that's all that matters. I desperately desire to soar through this life with reckless abandon, not caring about anything other than my savior and my Lord. Period. My biggest prayer in life, is that God would use me to change the world. Not just my little sphere of influence, but the WHOLE WORLD!!! And I believe HE can do it through me and others like me who are willing to throw all caution to the wind and chase after God. Another thing I really like about McManus, is his differentiation between civilized "Christians," and followers of Christ. The church today, especially in America, has lost it's zeal for God. We have forgotten that the 1st century church was a group of rebels. They were thrown out of their cities, beaten, stoned, thrown before lions in arenas for everyone to watch. They were being killed in droves. I have to say, that if the 1st century church was made up of a bunch of today's "Christians," I don't think there would have been any problem. Christians back then weren't worried about being nice people, or kind neighbors. They were passionately seeking their freedom-giver. They understood that to know God meant they had to tell everyone else. Not just those who wanted to hear them, but EVERYONE!

Paul

Paul from the New Testament is one of my favorite people in all of the Bible. I love his passion. Here's how I envision Paul from reading the NT.

Paul goes into a city. The leaders of the city know who he is and what he wants. He wants to preach Christ as Messiah and they will have nothing to do with him. They say to Paul, "Listen Paul. We know who you are and we know what you do. You can't preach here. If you do, we're going to beat you with rods." Paul says in response, "I understand. You gotta do what you gotta do. But just listen real quick. Jesus loves you and he died for your si......." They start hitting him with sticks, and leave him for dead outside the walls of the city. Paul heals up and comes back a few days later. Again they tell him, "You're not welcome here. Leave or we'll stone you." Paul says, "Cool, just listen real quick. Let me tell you about Jesus." They start throwing rocks at him, and leave him for dead outside the walls. Paul comes back a few days later, looking a little bruised. "Paul, we don't want you here. GO AWAY!!" He responds, "Ok, just let me tell you about Jesus real quick." This time they up the ante. They give him the ultimate punishment, the 39 lashes. They don't hear from Paul for a little bit. They think they finally got rid of him. He comes back a week and a half later, walking with a limp. He says, "Let me tell you about Jesus."

How many people to you know who have been beaten for their faith. How many "Christians" do you know who have faced any kind of persecution at all. Hard to think of very many. Christians in America today are weak. We have forgotten who it is that we serve, and how powerful He really is. We have forgotten the call to take up our crosses daily and follow Him. We have forgotten that we share in the death of Christ. We have forgotten that our God is an all-consuming fire. It's time to step up and take back what is rightfully God's, the souls of the world. God has a mission for you. He calls you to go to the ends of the Earth, introducing people to the King of Kings, and inviting them to encounter the greatest being of the universe. Will you go?

The Blog

I have decided to start writing down what I am learning/ experiencing in my daily life with God. I am not looking to do anything other than simply write down my thoughts, prayers, struggles, and anything else God lays on my heart. I hope and pray that through this blog, you will be able to learn something new about God and gain excitement about the fact that we serve the most loving being in the universe.